lped it attract users. As with many patent suits,discount toms shoes, this one will likely be resolved in a settlement or licensing deal. That said, the patent claims could cast a spotlight on Facebook's vulnerabilities as the company tries to complete an IPO this spring. At the end of 2011, Facebook had just 56 U.S. patents,cheap toms shoes, a relatively small number compared with other big tech companies. Yahoo owns more than 1,000 patents. That trove of patents may come in handy for Yahoo, which has seen its revenue fall steadily over the past three years. But it could also cast the company as desperate, trying to extract money from soon-to-be-public Facebook. Yahoo made hundreds of millions of dollars from a patent settlement that it reached with Google Inc. just before the Internet search leader went public in 2004. Facebook's IPO is expected to dwarf Google's, valuing the Menlo Park, Calif.-based social network at as much as $100 billion,cheap toms shoes. Yahoo defended its lawsuit, saying it has invested "substantial resources in research and development" over the years leading to technology patents that other companies have licensed. Its lawsuit says that without Yahoo's innovations, Facebook and other websites would not enjoy "repeat visitors or substantial advertising revenue." Among other claims, the lawsuit says that Yahoo's patents cover basic social networking ideas such as customizing website users' experiences to their needs and interests. And it says that Yahoo's advertising patents cover ways of generating ads that relate to individual users, increasing revenue for website operators. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo filed the lawsuit Monday in federal court in San Jose, Calif. It is asking for unspecified damages and a jury trial. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press,http://c-zsj.5d6d.com/. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ,http://www.zuowen.biz/thread-50904-1-1.html. An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.
By CHRIS KAHN, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) After a brief respite, the price of gasoline is climbing again. The average price for a gallon of gasoline rose a nickel over the weekend and is now $3.80 per gallon. That more than wiped out the penny decline seen last Tuesday through Thursday. That's the highest ever for this time of year. The average pump price has risen 52 cents this year as refineries and wholesalers pass along the higher cost of crude oil. Oil is up about 8 percent since Jan. 1. Experts say the nationwide average could rise as high as $4,http://www.happinessineverything.com/2011/11/get-hold-of-it-to-know-the-truth-regarding-all-that-is/.25 by late April. Besides high oil prices, a switch in the type of gasoline that drivers put in their tanks will drive the price higher. Supplies of gas tend to fall in April as refineries sell off their existing gasoline to make room for a different blend that's required in the summer to meet clean air laws. That shortage, plus the higher price for the summer gas, typically boosts the nationwide average. And deman